ALLEN PARK — When the Lions fired coach Jim Schwartz on Monday they sent a message to the long-suffering, devoted fans who had witnessed a jaw-dropping 1-6 collapse after a 6-3 start to the season.

“The bottom-line message is, from our ownership on down, we are unwaveringly committed to bringing a consistently winning football team to this town, immediately,’’ Lions president Tom Lewand said at a Monday press conference.

Immediately was the key word in that sentence.

Both Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew thanked Schwartz who was hired in 2009 following the 0-16 season. It wasn’t exactly an attractive job at the time.

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“He inherited a tough situation,’’ Mayhew said, “Again, along with Tom and our ownership, I want to thank him for the great job that he did. We are trying to get to another place and trying to get to another level.”

Schwartz got the team headed in the right direction, but just couldn’t get them over the hump. He helped lead them to snap many ugly records — like the 26 road-game losing streak, the nine-game Thanksgiving losing streak and he got them to the playoffs in 2011 after a 12-year post-season drought.

It’s a talented roster and more was expected this season.

Schwartz has left a team that should be attractive to more coaching candidates this time around. In fact, Lewand said his phone started ringing with agents and coaches who have an interest in the job as soon as word spread about Schwartz’s firing.

“I think this will be one of the most, if not the single most, attractive head coaching opportunity in the National Football League for a lot of different reasons,’’ Lewand said. “That starts with our ownership. I think it also continues with a lot of the talented people that we have in this organization. Not just in the locker room, although there are many of those.’’

The coaching search started immediately after Schwartz was dismissed.

Lewand expects it to be thorough, but not necessarily a long search.
The two have certain criteria in mind for the next coach who they expect to win immediately.

NFL head coaching experience would be beneficial, but Mayhew wouldn’t say it’s a requirement.

“I would say it’s certainly a factor,’’ Mayhew said. “I would not say that’s going to be a determining factor that we have to consider in terms of where we believe our team is right now and our ability to win right now.”

Mayhew is looking for a coach who can change the culture.

“I also think we can to take into account a coach’s ability to change our culture a little bit,’’ Mayhew said. “It has to be something bigger than just scheme that somebody’s bringing to our table.”

Schwartz changed the culture from a team that was hoping to be in games, to one that was expected to win every game.

Now the Lions must take the next step in the cultural revolution. Instead of expecting to win every game, they have to go out and actually win them.

“What I would say is over the past, you go back to the last two seasons for example, we got off to a below-average start I believe in 2012,’’ Mayhew said. “We were 4-4, fought our way back to 4-4, and we lost the last eight games. We weren’t able to make that play, to get over that hump, to find a way to win some of those games down the stretch.
“Then we get into this season and we’re 6-3 and we win one of our last seven games,’’ Mayhew said. “It’s the same situation: We were a play away. We have to find somebody that can bring that belief that we’re going to get over the hump.”

It’s a mentality along with the Xs and Os.

“It has to be a belief that no matter what’s happening, you have an opportunity to win,’’ Mayhew said. “You can’t put yourself in a situation where you get a fatalistic attitude or you get the belief that you can’t get over the hump, so to speak. I think that’s something that will need to be addressed in terms of the coach of our football team.”

Ken Whisenhunt, the offensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers, is one name that seems to fit the bill. He and Mayhew played together for the Redskins. Because the Chargers are in the playoffs no team can talk to Whisenhunt until Jan. 12.

Another possible candidate is Lovie Smith, a players’ coach who won three NFC North titles and one NFC championship with the Chicago Bears. He seems to be drawing much attention from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who fired coach Greg Schiano on Monday.

Obviously Mayhew and Lewand can’t name names.

With other NFL teams seeking coaches, the hirings could come fast and furious. No timelines have been set by Lewand and Mayhew.

They’ve been through this hiring process before and know what it involves.

“You gain a tremendous amount of knowledge about what different systems and practices are applied in different situations and it will help, without a doubt to develop that specific profile that we have for the head coach of the Detroit Lions in 2014 and beyond that is a different profile than we had in 2009,’’ Lewand said. “That experience helps, information helps, but it’s, all, again a part of the process.”

About the Author

Paula Pasche is a longtime sports writer for The Oakland Press and blogs at http://oplions.blogspot.com/. Author of book, "100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die." Follow on Tout and Twitter @paulapasche. Reach the author at paula.pasche@oakpress.com
or follow Paula on Twitter: @PaulaPasche.